Editors --- "Walking Together: The First Steps - Digest" [1996] AUIndigLawRpr 36; (1996) 1(1) Australian Indigenous Law Reporter 89

Walking Together: The First Steps

Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation

Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1994

The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is a multi-party, cross-cultural body committed to establishing a process of reconciliation. Walking Together is the report of the Council to the Australian Federal Parliament, covering its first term, 1991-1994. The "Executive Summary" is reproduced below.

Executive Summary

The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was formed to guide the process of reconciliation with the unanimous support of Federal Parliament in September 1991. The first Council, of 25 members, met in early 1992 under the chairmanship of Mr Patrick Dodson and with Sir Ronald Wilson as deputy chair. The Council established its vision as:

A united Australia which respects this land of ours, values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, and provides justice and equity for all.

The present Council finishes its three-year term at the end of 1994 and a new Council, albeit with some members reappointed, will take up the challenge in 1995.

While there is no statutory requirement for the Council to report to Federal Parliament at the end of its first triennium, Council members believe it is important to report to the body from which it received its commission. The report provides a gauge for how far the nation has progressed in relation to reconciliation, and outlines some of the issues and encouraging signs that have emerged during the past three years. Most of all, the report offers a challenge to Parliament - and to all Australians -- to build on the foundation that has been laid.

This report comprises four sections.

Section One: History examines the origins of the reconciliation process, the reasons why reconciliation is necessary, and the work of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, from 1991 to the end of 1994. The Council's work has focussed on public education and awareness-raising, consulting with the community about the process and issues of reconciliation, and encouraging cooperation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the wider community.

In addition, this section includes a detailed look at the issue of native title which profoundly affected the environment in which the first Council had to operate. Finally, this section examines the position of indigenous peoples in several comparable nations -- New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and the United States. Issues such as self-determination, land, reconciliation and the legal system are examined.

Section Two: The Key Issues of Reconciliation explains these issues, and provides some of the feedback the Council has received from the community in relation to these areas. Early in its term, the Council identified eight key issues as being crucial to the process of reconciliation, and it then sought to provide information and gain community views on these issues. The Council's consultations and communications efforts have been focussed on these issues:

* Understanding Country: The importance of land and sea in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies.

* Improving Relationships: Better relationships between indigenous Australians and the wider community.

* Valuing Cultures: Recognising indigenous cultures as a valued part of Australian heritage.

* Sharing Histories: A sense for all Australians of a shared ownership of their history.

* Addressing Disadvantage: A greater awareness of the causes of indigenous Australians' disadvantage.

* Responding to Custody Levels: A greater community response to addressing the underlying causes of the high levels of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody.

* Agreeing on a Document: Will the process of reconciliation be advanced by a document or documents of reconciliation?

* Controlling Destinies: Greater opportunities for indigenous Australians to control their destinies.

The Council commissioned discussion papers on each of these issues and asked the community to respond. These responses are contained in this section, along with responses gleaned from the Council's community meetings and the organisations contracted by the Council to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Section Three: Case Studies of Reconciliation is aimed at encouraging the nation to take up reconciliation at all levels. From these nine case studies, the Council has extracted a range of lessons for people wanting to build mutual respect, cooperation and justice in their communities.

On a State level, the work of the Tasmanian Government and the Aboriginal community in that State are examined. After years of division, the Government and Aboriginal people are working together to address the long-standing aspirations of Aboriginal people and to build respect and recognition of Aboriginal culture and heritage.

The importance of local government is examined in relation to the tiny Northern Territory town of Ti Tree, and the New South Wales City of Newcastle.

The importance of history is recognised by a case study based in Fremantle, Western Australia. Aboriginal people have worked with local government in Fremantle to have a plaque erected on the "explorers' monument" on the esplanade. The plaque acknowledges and memorialises a terrible incident in Australian history.

The Council's experiences in the pastoral and media industries are examined. These case studies provide important practical lessons about how to organise reconciliation meetings and events which can bring about change in complex areas. Case studies also examine reconciliation in the business and union sectors.

Another case study examines a successful project in the New South Wales town of Ballina. Police and the Aboriginal community are working together to prevent deaths in custody, reduce the detention rate for Aboriginal people, and build a sense of community.

Chapter 24 outlines some of the lessons to be learned from the case studies.

Section Four: The Way Ahead sets out the directions of the Council for the next three years, and some directions which should be taken up by the nation. The Council cannot bring about reconciliation by itself. The real work of reconciliation must be undertaken by governments at all levels, industry, unions, community groups, religious groups, and, most importantly, ordinary Australians.

The Council will target a number of new sectors in the next three years, including State Governments, schools and youth, women, bureaucracy, local government, environmental issues, the legal system and regional and local media. The Council will continue to stress the importance of local reconciliation activities.

One of the crucial areas for the Council and the nation over the next three years will be clarification of whether the process of reconciliation would be advanced by a formal document or documents of reconciliation, and what form any such documents should take. Local agreements have already proven to be effective. At the national level, there are a range of issues to be considered. Chapter 13 examines the many options for documents of reconciliation, including Constitutional change. Chapter 26 puts forward some of the Council's views on this issue. The Council is not yet in a position to formally report on what shape any national document or reconciliation agreement would take. However, the Council is firmly of the view that a national consideration of these issues is crucial over the next three years.

This decade is a time of great discussion and debate about Australia's identity and future. People are willing to discuss new issues and new approaches to doing things. Reconciliation is a critical part of this national process and the options for a formal, national agreement of reconciliation must be a central part of the nation's considerations of its future.

The tragedy of Aboriginal deaths in custody and entrenched Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage continues. The Council believes that the lasting reconciliation requires satisfactory resolution of the disadvantaged situation faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and a just outcome for matters of ongoing injustice.

The community has put forward many interesting suggestions for how reconciliation can be advanced. Many are documented in Section Two of this report. The Council's specific recommendations on a range of important issues will be included in a submission to the Federal Government on what further social justice measures it might take in response to the High Court's decision on native title.